


you are the sun

by nightswatch



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-21
Updated: 2015-07-21
Packaged: 2018-04-10 12:56:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4392773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nightswatch/pseuds/nightswatch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Combeferre just wanted to read and didn't really expect to suddenly become part of an impromptu Romeo and Juliet reenactment.</p>
            </blockquote>





	you are the sun

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the first prompt on [this ](http://suicidevsquad.tumblr.com/post/115019115431/party-meet-funny-aus)AU list.

“I hate you,” Enjolras muttered as he poured himself his sixth coffee of the evening. Not that Combeferre had been counting or anything. He’d probably missed a few and it was actually the tenth.

“It’s not my fault that I’m already done with finals,” Combeferre said and pulled some leftover pasta out of the fridge. “Don’t forget to eat.”

“Do we still have cupcakes?”

“Yeah, you can have one,” Combeferre pushed the Tupperware box in front of Enjolras’ nose, “after you’ve eaten this.”

Enjolras glared at him. “I don’t have time to–”

“Fine,” Combeferre interrupted and pushed Enjolras and his massive mug towards the hallway. “Go back to studying, I’ll heat it up for you.”

Enjolras only sighed, but went without a complaint, smiling at him before he disappeared in his room at the end of the hall. Combeferre quickly made himself a cup of tea while he heated up the pasta for Enjolras, set it down right in front of him, so he’d actually eat it, then he took his tea, a couple of cookies and the book he’d been meaning to start for weeks and sat down on the balcony to read.

It was a tiny balcony, there was barely enough room for a small table and two chairs, and the plants that Jehan had given to them, but Combeferre loved sitting out here. He liked the background noise of the people walking past and the clatter of dishes from the Italian restaurant across the road. A few cups of tea later Combeferre was nearly done with his book and it had got way too dark for him to keep reading.

The people out in the streets were mostly students now – walking home from the library with heavy book bags, or just now hurrying there to meet a deadline, and strolling from bar to bar if they were among the lucky ones who were already done with exams.

Combeferre checked on Enjolras in between cups of tea and eventually found him fast asleep surrounded by his notes. Combeferre tucked him in and returned to the balcony with a candle and the crosswords that he’d saved while he’d been studying for exams. They really needed to get a lamp for out here.

When he was starting to think about going back inside, because it was starting to get a lot cooler, a very loud and excited group of people tumbled out of the Corinthe down the street. Combeferre smiled, but kept doing his crossword and didn’t pay them any mind. Well, not until one of them started yelling right under his balcony.

“Hey... hey, up there,” one of them called, “hey, balcony boy, what’s up?”

His friends laughed. “Come on, Courfeyrac, leave him alone.”

“Balcony boy, you’re a cutie, you know that?”

Combeferre snorted, although he highly doubted that the guy – Courfeyrac, apparently – could even see him properly.

“Romeo,” Courfeyrac shouted, and Combeferre was pretty sure that he’d managed to wake up everyone in a one-mile-radius with that. “ _Romeo_.”

“You do know that Romeo is not the one on the balcony, right?” Combeferre asked.

“He speaks,” Courfeyrac said, beaming up at him, arms spread. And, okay, he looked sort of cute as well. His friends all looked vaguely embarrassed. One of them – and Combeferre had to admit that he wasn’t actually surprised – was Joly.

“Hey, Joly,” Combeferre said, “I gather you’re done with exams?”

Courfeyrac’s jaw dropped and he grabbed Joly by the arm. “You know hot balcony boy.”

Combeferre cleared his throat. He really shouldn’t get this flustered just because a drunk guy he didn’t even know had called him hot. “We’ve known each other for a while, yeah.”

“Ohhh, that’s so nice.” Courfeyrac smiled up at him again, then he clutched his heart. “Oh, speak again, brrright angel.” He swayed dangerously and Joly’s boyfriend Bossuet quickly steadied him.

“Maybe you should go to bed,” Combeferre suggested. Because he wasn’t quite sure how Courfeyrac would be doing after yet another visit to a bar. He might start thinking that he was actually Shakespeare. In any case, he’d have many regrets in the morning. Although that might also happen if he went straight home.

“He’s right,” Bossuet said and slung an arm around Courfeyrac’s shoulder, “time to go home.”

Courfeyrac took a step forward instead, reaching out. “No, Romeo, I don’t want to go home yet.”

Combeferre laughed. “As I said, Romeo is not the one on the balcony.”

“Right, you’re so smart.” Courfeyrac sighed. He did something that probably should have been a pirouette. “But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?  It is the east and...” He trailed off and tugged his fingers through his dark curls. “I can’t remember... oh, wait, I got it. It is the east and balcony boy is the sun.”

“Okay,” Joly said and shot Combeferre and apologetic smile, “we have to leave now. We wanted to get pizza, remember?”

Courfeyrac paused at the mention of pizza, but then looked up at Combeferre again. “Arise, fair balcony boy and–”

“And that’s it,” the tall one of the guys said and picked up Courfeyrac. “We’re leaving. Say goodbye to balcony boy, Courfeyrac.”

“Bye bye, beautiful balcony boy,” Courfeyrac shouted as he was carried off, waving frantically.

Combeferre waved back at him, although not quite as enthusiastically. “Enjoy your pizza.”

“Sorry about that,” Joly said. He and Bossuet waved goodbye as well and they were off, following their friend who was still carrying Courfeyrac, who was grinning at Combeferre and eventually started singing _You are so beautiful_.

Combeferre laughed and waited until they’d turned the corner at the end of the street, Courfeyrac still waving, then Combeferre blew out the candle and finally went inside. He found Enjolras back in the kitchen. There was more coffee brewing and Enjolras was sitting at the kitchen table, rubbing his temples. “Was someone singing?”

“Yeah, there were some guys... celebrating the end of finals,” Combeferre muttered.

“I hate them,” Enjolras grumbled and poured himself some coffee. Combeferre was surprised that Enjolras wasn’t drinking it right out of the jug. Those guys who’d just walked by really weren’t the only ones who definitely needed some sleep. Combeferre did as well, for that matter.

“Promise you’ll sleep at some point,” Combeferre said and gave Enjolras a nudge before he finally went to bed.

The next day Combeferre went to buy a string of lights for their balcony railing, even though they still weren’t bright enough for him to read, at least they looked pretty.

When Enjolras was finally done with his exams, the two of them decided to celebrate with copious amounts of takeout – pizza, some Chinese food, and dessert from their favorite bakery. There wasn’t actually enough space for it all on their small table on the balcony, but it was a nice, warm summer evening and it would have been a shame to spend it inside.

Enjolras seemed to have recovered from the exam stress rather quickly and was now talking about an activist group he wanted to start after summer break. Combeferre liked the idea, because even though there were a few university based groups, most of them dealt with very specific problems and Enjolras was planning on doing something that covered a wide range of issues. They’d need a lot of dedicated members for it to work, but it was certainly worth a try.

And usually Combeferre was a good listener, a great listener even, but when he spotted a familiar face down in the street, he got slightly distracted. It was Courfeyrac, this time with a laptop bag slung over his shoulder, carrying a bag full of groceries. Combeferre kind of wanted to call his name, just to see what was going to happen, but chances were that Courfeyrac had been drunk enough not to remember that he’d tried to reenact Romeo and Juliet right under Combeferre’s balcony.

Quite frankly, Combeferre had thought about Courfeyrac every now and again during the last couple of days. He’d barely even noticed that he’d snuck into his thoughts every so often, he’d just found himself smiling about the show he’d put on for him at the most random moments.

“Combeferre?” Enjolras said, waving around a spring roll in front of Combeferre’s face. “You okay?”

“Yes, sorry. I got distracted.”

Combeferre managed to pay attention to Enjolras from then on, but eventually Enjolras went to get his laptop and Combeferre got himself a book and they both fell silent. And Combeferre tried very hard to concentrate on reading that book, but he kept thinking that if Courfeyrac had walked down this street with his groceries, he probably lived somewhere around here. Combeferre might bump into him one day. And he really did like the thought of that.

After a few days of not being stressed about exams, Combeferre sadly had to take care of the essays he’d left unfinished until now. Usually he would work in his room or at the library and not leave until he was done, but a teeny tiny voice in his head whispered something about the possibility of Courfeyrac walking by again, so Combeferre chose to spend at least a couple of hours out on the balcony in the evening.

Combeferre didn’t see him for a couple of days, then one evening when he’d almost finished his last assignment and he’d allowed himself to take some time off, Courfeyrac came walking down the street again and this time Combeferre leaned over the railing. “Hey, Courfeyrac.”

Courfeyrac stopped dead and frowned up at him. “Hey...” He obviously had no idea who Combeferre was. Courfeyrac tilted his head, narrowed his eyes, then his mouth fell open. “Oh no.”

Combeferre smirked. “Nice to see you again.”

“Oh god, you’re the guy on the balcony, you’re...” Courfeyrac looked extremely embarrassed and Combeferre almost felt bad for saying hello. “I’m so sorry,” Courfeyrac said.

“It’s alright,” Combeferre said and smiled at him, “it was pretty entertaining.”

Courfeyrac let out a deep breath. “Well, I’m glad to hear that, I live to entertain.” He laughed. “Well, Romeo, it was nice to see you again. I have to go home, but maybe I’ll see you around.”

“I hope so,” Combeferre said, suddenly feeling the overwhelming need to hide his face behind his hands, but Courfeyrac only winked at him and waved before he walked off, so Combeferre didn’t seem to have _totally_ embarrassed himself.

The next day found Combeferre back on the balcony, this time with a new book. Today he wasn’t actually looking for Courfeyrac, though. It was a good book and Combeferre was soon completely engrossed in it. He nearly dropped it when someone shouted, “Romeo.”

“You’re back,” Combeferre said. He hadn’t actually expected to see Courfeyrac again so soon. “And, you know, Romeo really is the one who’s not–”

“Not on the balcony, I do know that,” Courfeyrac said. “I just like calling you Romeo. And it’s not just because I don’t know your actual name. I mean, I asked Joly and he told me to come ask you myself.”

“I’m Combeferre. It’s very nice to meet you.”

“Well...” Courfeyrac laughed. “Yeah, I mean, I can’t remember much about the first time we met, so that’s a pretty appropriate thing to say. I do remember that I went all balcony scene on you, but yeah...” He buried his hands in the pockets of his shorts. “Anyway, you said you were hoping to see me around, so here I am, casually walking by.”

“Where are you going?”

“I’m meeting a friend for dinner at the Musain,” Courfeyrac said. “They’re having a Mexican night tonight and I’m super excited.”

“I hate to break it to you, but if you’re having dinner at the Musain, you’re walking in the wrong direction, because the Musain,” Combeferre said and pointed down the street, “is over there.”

Courfeyrac laughed nervously. “How do you know I didn’t come from down here?”

“You were going home the other day, remember?”

“Okay, so maybe I was deliberately walking in the wrong direction because...” He bounced up and down a little. “Would you believe me if I said that I temporality lost my sense of direction?”

“No, but I’m definitely willing to just let it go,” Combeferre said.

“Good, okay, yeah.” Courfeyrac smiled brightly. “I should get going. But maybe you’ll see me around again soon.”

“And maybe next time you won’t be in a hurry,” Combeferre said.

Courfeyrac nodded. “I’ll make sure of that. See you, Combeferre,” he said and curtsied before he walked off, his face bright red.

Combeferre had a hard time keeping the huge smile off his face after that and Enjolras shot him a few curious looks until Combeferre promised that he’d tell him eventually – if there was ever something to tell.

He was actually a little disappointed when Courfeyrac didn’t come by the next day. The day after that Combeferre was kept inside by the rain. Maybe he should have given Courfeyrac his phone number instead of hoping that he was just going to walk by again in the near future. Chances were that they’d keep missing each other and that Courfeyrac would eventually give up. If he was even trying to catch Combeferre on the balcony.

He did see Courfeyrac again soon enough, only this time Combeferre wasn’t sitting outside. Combeferre was busy dusting off the shelves in the living room, but all the windows and doors were open, which was why he heard Courfeyrac call, “Rapunzel.”

 Combeferre quickly pulled off his rubber gloves and walked out on the balcony. “Really, Rapunzel?”

“I don’t even know, man.” Courfeyrac laughed. He held up a huge paper bag. “I brought cake and that was basically just a weird attempt at getting you to invite me up on that super nice balcony. But now that I think about it, it was kinda creepy since we don’t really know each other. So you can just come down here and I’ll hand over the cake, you don’t even have to pull it up with your hair.”

Courfeyrac did have a point, it probably wasn’t a good idea to invite a virtual stranger into the apartment, especially when Enjolras wasn’t here, but they had mutual friends and Combeferre just had a really good feeling about Courfeyrac in general. “No, it’s fine. Come up, I’ll buzz you in.”

Courfeyrac came waltzing into the apartment like he’d already been here a billion times already. “You know, I was going to ask you out or something. It’s nice that you invited me in, but seriously, you can kick me out whenever you want.”

“Make yourself comfortable on the balcony,” Combeferre said. “I’ll make coffee.” When he joined Courfeyrac outside, his palms sweaty, the coffee cups in his hands shaking ever so slightly, the cakes were all unpacked and stacked up on the tiny table.

“That is a lot of cake,” Combeferre said as he set down the coffee.

“Bahorel works at a bakery,” Courfeyrac said. He handed Combeferre a plastic fork. “He gets a discount and he loves me, which means that I also get a discount.”

“Right, I don’t know Bahorel, but tell him thanks from me.”

“Oh, he’s the guy who carried me off after the, um, Romeo and Juliet incident,” Courfeyrac muttered and opened a box with chocolate cake. “I should probably thank him for that, because I’m pretty sure that I could have remembered more lines if I’d tried.”

“I was actually impressed with how much you remembered considering how drunk you were.”

“I was Romeo once at school, it was my first big role and I was so scared that I was going to fuck up, I’m pretty sure that no one ever knew those lines better than I did. Well, I still do, as you’ve witnessed.”

“If anyone ever needs an emergency Romeo, I’ll send them your way.”

“Please do,” Courfeyrac said, “I pounce on every opportunity to show off my Romeo skills.”

Combeferre smiled. “So, are you still in plays every now and then?”

“As a matter of fact I am,” Courfeyrac said, grinning broadly. “I’ll make sure to invite you to next term’s play. If you still like me then.”

“I think that really depends on whether or not you keep bringing me cake.”

Courfeyrac laughed and Combeferre caught himself thinking that he might be a little bit in love with him already. And it had absolutely nothing to do with the cake.

“I’ll make sure your life will be full of cake from now on. And if that doesn’t work, I’ll just show up under your window with my ukulele,” Courfeyrac said. “Although I’m not sure if you’d like me better after that.”

“Actually, that’s something I’d really like to see,” Combeferre said. He opened another one of the cake boxes. “I’m glad you came by, Courfeyrac.”

“Well, and I’m glad that you spend so much time on your balcony,” he smirked, “Romeo.”

**Author's Note:**

> [Here's my writing blog](http://musains.tumblr.com/).


End file.
